Wafer holder

ABSTRACT

A wafer holder is provided which includes a holder body with a chuck table having a ring-like wafer receptacle, and a plurality of fixing portions fixing a wafer on the wafer receptacle to hold the wafer, and a carrier supporting the wafer before fixed on the wafer receptacle from downward. The holder body includes a carrier support portion which forms a support face to support the carrier and be changeable in height from an original position, and positions the support face on which the wafer is placed at a delivery position. The carrier support portion separates the wafer from the carrier by lowering the support face from the delivery position, so that the fixing portions fix the wafer.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is based on and claims priority from JapanesePatent Application No. 2007-277162, filed on Oct. 25, 2007, thedisclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a wafer holder for a chip inspectionapparatus which moves a wafer to inspect a chip thereon in asemiconductor manufacture process, for example.

2. Description of Related Art

There are various known wafer holding devices such as ones used in achip inspection apparatus which inspects a chip on a wafer while movingthe wafer, a wafer inspection apparatus which inspects the surface of awafer while rotating the wafer, and a semiconductor exposure apparatuswhich exposes and transfers a circuit pattern onto a photosensitizingagent (photoresist) filmed or coated on the surface of a wafer byirradiating light, for example.

For example, Japanese Laid-open Patent Application Publication No.2003-324143 discloses such a wafer holder which includes a ring-likewafer receptacle around the circumferential rim of a chuck table to holda wafer by attaching (fixing) the outer circumferential rim of the waferonto the wafer receptacle by suction of evacuated air.

In view of preventing the wafer from contaminated or scratched, thewafer needs to avoid contact with other objects as much as possible. Forexample, during delivery the wafer is placed on a carrier which isconfigured to support the wafer only at the outer circumferential areathereof. For outer or surface inspection or surface machining of a chipon the wafer, the wafer is held by the above wafer holder whenappropriate.

However, there is a problem in the prior art wafer holders that they areconfigured to hold the wafer on the wafer receptacle by suction so thatfor placing the wafer on the wafer receptacle, the wafer needs to beseparated from the carrier. In the prior art the wafer is transferredfrom the carrier to the wafer receptacle using tweezers or the like, forexample; however, this disadvantageously increases the possibility forthe wafer to be made in contact with other objects.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of solving the above problem, the present invention aims toprovide a wafer holder which can hold and move a wafer on the carrierwithout the wafer's made in contact with other objects.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a wafer holdercomprises a holder body with a chuck table having a ring-like waferreceptacle formed around a circumferential rim thereof; and a pluralityof fixing portions fixing a circumferential rim of a wafer on the waferreceptacle to hold the wafer; and a carrier in a circular shape tosupport the circumferential rim of the wafer before fixed on the waferreceptacle from downward and to receive the chuck table, wherein theholder body includes a carrier support portion which forms a supportface to support the carrier when a receiving face of the waferreceptacle is parallel to the wafer, and to be changeable in height in adirection orthogonal to the receiving face, and positions the supportface at a delivery position where the wafer is made in contact with thewafer receptacle, while the carrier is placed on the support face; andthe carrier support portion separates the wafer from the carrier bylowering the support face supporting the carrier from the deliveryposition, so that the fixing portions fix the wafer.

Preferably, in such a wafer holder the carrier support portion isconfigured to position the support face at an original position higherthan the delivery position while the carrier is not placed on thesupport face, and place the wafer on the wafer receptacle by loweringthe support face supporting the carrier to or below the deliveryposition.

Preferably, in such a wafer holder, the carrier support portion includesa tubular member accordion-folded, extendible, and made of anelastically deformable member, and a suction mechanism being able tosuction air from an inner space of the tubular member from the holderbody. When the carrier is placed on the support face at the originalposition, the tubular member lowers, by a weight of the carrier, thesupport face from the original position to the delivery position, andlowers, by suction of the suction mechanism, the support face from thedelivery position.

Preferably, in such a wafer holder, the tubular member includes an openupper end, and the support face is formed by the open upper end of thetubular member. Further, the carrier support portion is configured tolower the support face from the delivery position by suctioning the airfrom the inner space of the tubular member by the suction mechanism in astate that the open upper end of the tubular member is sealed with thecarrier placed on the support face.

Preferably, in such a wafer holder, the fixing portions each include asuction hole which is open to the receiving face at one end and issealable with the wafer placed on the wafer receptacle and through whichair is suctioned by the suction mechanism.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective pattern diagram of a wafer holder according tothe present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective pattern diagram of a carrier on which a wafer isplaced;

FIG. 3 is a perspective pattern diagram of the wafer holder when thecarrier is appropriately placed on a support face at a delivery positionand at an original position on inspection stages;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of the wafer holder along the I to Iline of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective pattern diagram of the wafer holder when on theinspection stages the carrier is appropriately placed on a support faceat a separation position; and

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view of the wafer holder along the II to IIline of FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Hereinafter, embodiment of the present invention will be described indetail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective pattern diagram of a wafer holder 10, FIG. 2 isa perspective pattern diagram of a carrier 15, and FIG. 3 is aperspective pattern diagram of the wafer holder 10 when on inspectionstages 12, 13, a carrier 15 is appropriately placed on a support face(FIG. 4) at an original position B. FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view ofthe wafer holder 10 along the I to I line of FIG. 3, FIG. 5 is aperspective pattern diagram of the wafer holder 10 when on theinspection stages 12, 13, the carrier 15 is appropriately placed on thesupport face 25 (FIG. 6) at a separation position E, and FIG. 6 is across sectional view of the wafer holder 10 along the II to II line ofFIG. 5. Note that in FIG. 5 a wafer 14 and the carrier 15 are largelyseparated vertically for the sake of better understanding. However, theyhave only to be mounted with a space on the support face 25 at theseparation position E as shown in FIG. 6.

The wafer holder 10 as shown in FIG. 1 comprises a holder body havingthe inspection stages 12, 13 each to hold the wafer 14 by handling thecarrier 15 with the wafer thereon. In the present embodiment the waferholder 10 is configured to be an inspection device for wafer surface.

The carrier 15 in FIG. 2 includes a rectangular plate-like shape and acircular through hole 15 a at the center. The circumferential rim of thethrough hole 15 a is formed in stepwise shape (16, 16 a in FIG. 4), anda face of the stepwise part is a mounting face 16 to support acircumferential rim 14 a of the circular wafer 14 (FIGS. 1, 3, 5) fromdownward. A wall 16 a is formed to extend along a face orthogonal to themounting face 16 and prevent the movement of the wafer 14 along themounting face 16. The carrier 15 with the wafer 14 thereon is handled onthe inspection stage 12, 13 (FIG. 1). The inspection stages 12, 13 eachare to separate the wafer 14 from the carrier 15 and hold it for waferinspection. Their configurations and operations are the same so thatonly the inspection stage 12 will be described. Like components of theinspection stage 13 are given the same numeral codes as those of theinspection stage 12. In FIGS. 1, 3, and 5 the same operation is done onthe inspection stages 12, 13 at the same time, however, only one of themcan be operated.

The inspection stage 12 includes a column-like chuck table 17 insertablethrough a circular space 15 c (FIG. 2) of the carrier 15 and foursuction pads 18 surrounding the chuck table 17. The chuck table 17includes a wafer receptacle 19 and an opening 20.

The wafer receptacle 19 has a ring-like form and protrudes upward on theentire circumferential rim 17 b of an upper surface 17 a of the chucktable 17 (FIGS. 1, 4, 6). The upper surface of the wafer receptacle 19is a level surface, forming a receiving face 21. Hereinafter, adirection orthogonal to the receiving face 21 is to be a verticaldirection.

One end of the opening 20 is open to the upper surface 17 a of the chucktable 17 at a position more inward than that of the wafer receptacle 19while the other end thereof is open to an outside of the chuck table notto the upper surface 17 a (not shown). When the wafer 14 isappropriately placed on the receiving face 21 of the wafer receptacle19, a space S (FIG. 4) will be formed between the upper surface 17 a ofthe chuck table 17 and the wafer receptacle 19. The opening 20 functionsto make the space S in communication with a surrounding area where thewafer holder is disposed and to have pressure thereof be equal toatmospheric pressure in the surrounding area.

The wafer receptacle 19 comprises a plurality of wafer suction holes 23.The wafer suction holes 23 are arranged with a predetermined interval onthe ring-like wafer receptacle 19. As shown in FIGS. 4, 6, each suctionhole 23 is open to the receiving face 21 at one end and connected with asuction device P at the other end. The wafer holder 10 is configured tohold the wafer 14 by the suction device P's suctioning air from eachwafer suction hole 23 while the wafer 14 is appropriately placed on thereceiving face 21 of the wafer receptacle 19. The wafer suction holes 23function as a fixing portion to fix the wafer 14 in cooperation with thereceiving face 21 of the wafer receptacle 19 and the suction device P.Below the wafer 14, the space S is formed between the upper surface 17 aof the chuck table 17 and the wafer receptacle 19. The four suction pads18 (FIG. 1) are provided to hold the wafer 14 on the wafer receptacle 19by suction while the carrier 15 is separated from the wafer 14.

Each suction pad 18 is an accordion-folded, extendable, tubular membermade of an elastically deformable member. Bottom ends 18 a of therespective suction pads 18 are air-tightly attached to carrier supportplates 24 (bottom surface of recess 24 d to be described later). Upperends 18 b of the respective suction pads 18 are set to be on the sameplane orthogonal to the vertical direction and form a support face 25 toprovide a support for the carrier 15 from downward. The support face 25is therefore parallel to the receiving face 21 of the wafer receptacle19. Appropriately placing the carrier 15 on the support face 25 can sealan inner space I of each suction pad 18. In other words, the opening ofeach upper end 18 b is airtightly closed.

In this embodiment, appropriately placing the carrier 15 on theinspection stage 12 means appropriately placing it on the support face25 formed by the upper ends 18 b of the suction pads 18. The wafer 14 isplaced on the carrier 15 positioned on the support face 25. Thepositional relation among the carrier 15, the wafer receptacle 19, andthe wafer 14 is decided so that the wafer 14 is properly placed on thereceiving face 21 of the wafer receptacle 19 by moving the carrier 15with the wafer 14 thereon in parallel in the vertically direction.

The carrier support plates 24 each include a protrusion 24 b (FIG. 1)corresponding to a locator hole 15 b of the carrier 15 to prevent thecarrier 15 supported on the support face 25 from displacing. They alsoeach include a recess 24 d which is open to the top end surface 24 cthereof and accommodate each suction pad 18 when shrunk. Top endsurfaces 24 c of the carrier support plates 24 are set to be on the sameplane orthogonal to the vertical direction. Each suction pad 18 isairtightly attached to the bottom surface 24 a of the recess 24 d.

The size and dimension of each suction pad 18 without any load fromoutside are set so that the mounting face 16 of the carrier 15 ispositioned more upward than the receiving face 21 of the waferreceptacle 19, that is, the wafer 14 on the carrier 15 on the supportface 25 is positioned above the receiving face 21 with an interval. Thisposition of the support face 25 at this time is defined to be theoriginal position B (FIG. 4).

Each suction pad 18 is shrinkable to a position at which the mountingface 16 of the carrier 25 on the support face 25 goes lower than thereceiving face 21 of the wafer receptacle 19 to be accommodated in therecess 24 d. This position of the support face 25 is defined to be theseparation position E (FIG. 6). Given a load from the outside, eachsuction pad 18 is shrinkable to move the support face 25 to theseparation position E while free from the load from the outside, it canreturn to the original size by its own restoring force (elastic force)to move the support face 25 to the original position B.

Moreover, when the carrier 15 with the wafer 14 thereon is mounted onthe support face 25 formed by the upper ends 18 b in cooperation witheach other, the weight of the carrier 15 and the wafer 14 causes eachsuction pad 18 to shrink so that the support face 25 is gradually moveddownward in parallel (arrow A1 in FIG. 4) from the original position Bto a delivery position T (FIG. 4). The support face 25 supports only thecarrier 15 at the delivery position T (higher than the separationposition E). The suction pads 18 are configured to have such a springforce as not to extend/shrink when the support face 25 is at thedelivery position T.

Each carrier support plate 24 further includes a carrier suction hole 26to lower the support face 25 of the suction pad 18 to the separationposition E.

Each carrier suction hole 26 is open to the bottom surface 24 a of therecess 24 d at one end to be in communication with the inner space I ofthe suction pad 18 while it is connected with the suction device P atthe other end. Each carrier suction hole 26 and each wafer suction hole23 are connected with the single suction device P at their other ends.In the wafer holder 10 according to the present embodiment, theinspection stages 12, 13 are connected with the suction device P, andthe suction holes in communication with the suction device P can beselectively open or close when necessary. Either or both of theinspection stages 12, 13 can be operated by the suction device P.

When the carrier 15 is mounted on the support face 25 properly to sealeach inner space I, the suction device P suctions the air from eachinner space I and depressurizes it. Thereby, the carrier 15 is attachedto each suction pad 18 and at the same time each suction pad 18 isshrunk so that the support face 25 formed by the upper ends 18 bdescends to the separation position E (FIGS. 5, 6). Thus, the suctionpads 18 each function as a carrier support portion in cooperation withthe carrier suction hole 26 and the suction device P.

Next, the operation of the wafer holder 10 will be described.

An operator carries the carrier 15 with the wafer 14 thereon to theinspection stage 12 (or inspection stage 13) and places it properly onthe support face 25 (indicated by chain double-dashed lines in FIGS. 3,4) at the original position B. Then, the carrier 15 airtightly seals theinner space I of each suction pad 18 and the weight of the wafer 14 andcarrier 15 causes the suction pad 18 to shrink, thereby lowering thesupport face 25 in parallel from the original position B to the deliveryposition T (indicated by arrow A1 in chain double-dashed lines in FIG.4). As described above, each suction pad 18 is configured to beshrinkable until the support face 25 lowers to the separation position E(FIG. 6), and the chuck table 17 with the wafer receptacle 19 isconfigured to be insertable into the circular space 15 c of the carrier15. Accordingly, the wafer 14 on the carrier 15 supported by the supportface 25 is come in contact with the receiving face 21 of the waferreceptacle 19 from upward while the support face 25 moves from theoriginal position B (FIG. 4) to the separation position E (FIG. 6), oreach suction pad 18 is shrunk. Here, the wafer 14 on the carrier 15 issupported at its outer circumference 14 a by the mounting face 16 fromdownward, in other words, the upward movement thereof is free fromrestriction. Because of this, the wafer 14 is transferred from themounting face 16 of the carrier 15 to the receiving face 21 of the waferreceptacle 19 by moving the mounting face 16 downward below thereceiving face 21. The delivery position T (FIG. 4) is a position of thesupport face 25 of each suction pad 18 when the wafer 14 is transferredfrom the carrier 15 to the wafer receptacle 19. Each suction pad 18 isset to have such a strength (spring force) as not to extend or shrinkwhile the support face 25 is at the delivery position T (upper than theseparation position E), supporting only the carrier 15. Therefore, thesuction pad 18 stops moving upward or downward when supporting thecarrier 15 at the delivery position T. That is when the support face 25is at the delivery position T, the mounting face 16 of the carrier 15 islocated on the same plane on which the receiving face 21 of the waferreceptacle 19 is, or slightly below the receiving face 21.

Appropriate placement of the carrier 15 on the support face 25 meansthat the wafer 14 on the carrier 15 is placed properly on the receivingface 21 of the wafer receptacle 19. When the support face 25 of eachsuction pad 18 is at the delivery position T and the carrier 15 isplaced appropriately on the receiving face 21, the downward movement ofthe wafer 14 is restricted by the receiving face 21 while the movementthereof along a face orthogonal to vertical direction is restricted bythe wall 16 a surrounding the mounting face 16 of the carrier 15 (FIG.4). Accordingly, the wafer 14 can be prevented from being displaced fromthe proper position on the receiving face 21 even when the wafer holder10 is moved.

Then, the suction device P is operated to suction the air from theairtightly sealed inner spaces I of the suction pads 18 and wafersuction holes 23. This causes the wafer 14 on the receiving face 21 ofthe wafer receptacle 19 to be attached onto the wafer receptacle 19, andat the same time the carrier 15 to be attached onto the suction pads 18due to depressurization of the inner spaces I. In this state, thesuction pads 18 get shrunk so that the support face 25 formed by theupper ends 18 b thereof is moved downward from the delivery position T(arrow A2 in FIG. 4) to the separation position E (FIG. 6). In such amanner, the wafer holder 10 according to the present embodiment canseparate the wafer 14 from the carrier 15 to hold the wafer 14 bysuction and also hold the separated carrier 15 on the support face 25 atthe separation position E by suction. In the present embodiment, thewafer holder 10 can hold the wafer 14 and the carrier 15 at differentpositions by the suction in parallel to the plane orthogonal to thevertical direction. That is, with the support face 25 being at theseparation position E, each suction pad 18 is accommodated in the recess24 d, the carrier 15 is placed on the top end surface 24 c of thecarrier support plate 24 on the same plane, and the upper surface of thecarrier 15 comes below that of the wafer 14 attached to the waferreceptacle 19.

The suction device P is set to have suction force enough to suction theair from the inner spaces I and the wafer suction holes 23 and maintainthe holding of the wafer 14 on the wafer receptacle 19 and the holdingof the carrier 15 by the suction pad 18.

In the inspection stage 12, a desired operation is performed on thewafer 14 while the wafer 14 and the carrier 15 are separately held.According to the present embodiment as shown in FIG. 6, a not-shown chipon the wafer 14 is inspected. When a chip is found to be defectiveduring the inspection, it will be given a bad mark with an inker 22(fountain pen). In order to prevent the carrier 15 from interfering withthe marking operation, the wafer holder 10 is configured that the uppersurface of the carrier 15 is positioned below that of the wafer 14. Thatis, in marking process, the inker 22 is relatively moved in parallel tothe upper surface of the wafer 14 (arrow A3) and at a position 0.2 mm to0.5 mm higher than that and the pen tip of the inker 22 protrudes to amarking point on the upper surface. In a case where the inker 22relatively moves in parallel above the carrier 15 (indicated by chaindoubled-dash lines and arrow A3) but not above the wafer 14, and theupper surface of the carrier 15 is above that of the wafer 14, the inker22 and the carrier 15 may interfere with each other.

After completion of a desired operation to the held wafer 14, thesuction device P is operated to release the holding of the wafer 14 onthe wafer receptacle 19 and of the carrier 15 on the suction pad 18. Thereturning force of the suction pad 18 causes the support face 25 to moveupward from the separation position E (FIG. 6) to the original positionB via the delivery position T (FIG. 4).

In this ascending process, the mounting face 16 of the ascending carrier15 is made in contact with the released wafer 14 from downward (deliveryposition T), and the wafer 14 is supported by the mounting face 16 inreplace of the receiving face 21. Thereby, the wafer 14 can be properlyplaced on the mounting face 16 of the carrier 15. As shown in FIG. 4,when the support face 25 of the suction pad 18 comes at the deliveryposition T, the carrier 15 with the wafer thereon is properly set on thesupport face 25. Then, the carrier 15 is unloaded from the mounting face16 to handle the wafer 14 thereon. By unloading of the carrier 15, thesuction pad 18 returns to be in the original size by its own elasticforce and the support face 25 returns to the original position B.

As described above, since the wafer holder 10 separates the wafer 14from the carrier 15 and holds it on the receiving face 21 of the waferreceptacle 19 by suction, it can avoid the wafer 14 from getting incontact with other components except for the receiving face 21 in theprocess of the separation and holding. The wafer holder 10 is able tohold the wafer 14 properly in contact with only the mounting face 16 ofthe carrier 15 which will be otherwise made in contact with the wafer 14during delivery or else and the receiving face 21 which receives thewafer 14.

After separating the wafer 14 and carrier 15 and holding themindividually, the wafer holder 10 can properly place the wafer 14 on themounting face 16 of the carrier 15 while avoiding the wafer 14 fromgetting in contact with other components except for the receiving face21. Therefore, with use of the wafer holder 10, a desired operation canbe performed to the wafer 14 properly placed on the mounting face 16 ofthe carrier 15, namely, the carrier 15. This eliminates necessity forthe operator to touch the wafer 14 and prevents the wafer 14 fromgetting in contact with other components except for the mounting face16.

Further, with the wafer holder 10, the operator can handle the carrier15 instead of the wafer 14, so that he/she is not required to be soattentive or careful as much as in handling the wafer 14. Because ofthis, it is possible to reduce preparation time for a desired operationto the wafer 14 and keep the wafer 14 from being contaminated orscratched accidentally during the preparation.

In the wafer holder 10, while the wafer 14 and the carrier 15 are heldseparately, the wafer 14 can be subjected to a desired operation.Accordingly, it is possible to prevent a carrier 15 from moving andinterfering with the operation and prevent occurrence of dust due to themoving carrier 15.

In the wafer holder 10, the other ends of the carrier suction holes 26and those of the wafer suction holes 23 are connected with the singlesuction device P. By the suction of the single suction device P as powersource, the holding of the wafer 14 and the carrier 15 as well as thevertical movement of the support face 25 of the carrier support portioncan be achieved.

Moreover, the wafer holder 10 is configured to deliver the wafer 14between the receiving face 21 of the wafer receptacle 19 and themounting face 16 of the carrier 15 by vertically moving the mountingface 16. In comparison with holding and moving the wafer 14 between thetwo faces, the wafer 14 is less likely to be contaminated or scratched.

Further, the wafer holder 10 is configured to deliver the wafer 14between the mounting face 16 and the receiving face 21 by verticallymoving the mounting face 16 to reverse the vertical positions thereof.This enables the wafer 14 to be securely held even with an error inrelative heights of the receiving face 21 and mounting face 16. Incontrast, in a case where the wafer on the carrier is integrally held,the relative heights of the receiving face 21 and the mounting face arecrucial to the secure holding of the wafer. That is, when the mountingface is higher than the receiving face, the wafer cannot be held on thereceiving face by suction while when the receiving face is higher thanthe mounting face, the wafer will be fallen out of the mounting facebefore held on the receiving face.

In the wafer holder 10, when the wafer 14 on the carrier 15 is placed onthe support face 25 at the original position B, the weight of the wafer14 and carrier 15 causes the support face 25 to slowly lower, therebytransferring the wafer 14 from the mounting face 19 to the receivingface 21. This can prevent the wafer 14 from being contaminated orscratched.

Furthermore, the wafer holder 10 comprises the chuck table 17 with theopening 20. Provision of the opening 20 can prevent the space S betweenthe wafer 14 and the upper surface 17 a of the chuck table 17 fromnegatively pressurized due to the air suction from the wafer suctionhole 23 while the wafer is held on the wafer receptacle 19 by suction.This results in preventing deflection of the wafer 14 due to thenegative pressure of the space S.

Further, the wafer holder 10 can hold the wafer 14 and the carrier 15separately with the upper surface of the carrier 15 being lower thanthat of the wafer 14. Because of this, the carrier 15 is preventablefrom interfering with a desired operation such as the chip inspection onthe wafer 14 and marking with the inker 22 in the present embodiment.

Further, the wafer holder 10 is configured to limit the downwardmovement of the wafer 14 by the receiving face 21 and movement thereofalong the face orthogonal to the vertical direction by the wall 16 awhile the support face 25 of the suction pad 18 remains at the deliveryposition T and the wafer 14 is properly placed on the receiving face 21.Therefore, even before the suction device P is operated, the wafer 14cannot be displaced from the right position on the receiving face 21.

Further, the wafer holder 10 comprises the two inspection stages 12, 13to hold the separated wafer 14 and carrier 15 properly, which enablesperforming a desired operation to the wafer 14 efficiently.

The wafer holder 10 achieves the holding of the separated wafer 14 andcarrier 15 on the inspection stage 12, 13 by suction of the singlesuction device P. That is, the wafer holding, the separation of thewafer 14 and the carrier 15, and the carrier holding on both theinspection stages 12 and 13 can be all done by the suction of thesuction device P as power source.

As described above, the wafer holder 10 according to the presentembodiment can hold the wafer 14 on the carrier 15 without increasingthe possibility for the wafer 14 made in contact with other objects.

The above embodiment has described the suction device P as a fixingportion which suctions air from the wafer suction holes 23 to hold thewafer 14 on the wafer receptacle 19. However, the present invention isnot limited thereto. As long as the wafer is fixed on the waferreceptacle 19, the fixing portion can be configured of a plurality ofhooks to fix the wafer on the wafer receptacle.

The above embodiment has described an example where the wafer holder 10inspects a chip on the wafer 14. However, the present invention is notlimited to such an example. The wafer holder 10 is applicable to asemiconductor exposure device which exposes and transfers a circuitpattern onto a photosensitizing agent (photoresist) filmed or coated onthe surface of the wafer by irradiating light, a wafer carrier devicewhich holds and carries the wafer, or the like.

The above embodiment has described an example where the suction pad 18and carrier suction hole 26, and suction device P constitute a carriersupport portion. However, the present invention is not limited thereto.Other configurations are applicable as long as the wafer deliverybetween the mounting face and the receiving face is achievable byvertically moving the support face supporting the carrier to reverse thepositional relation between the mounting face of the carrier and thereceiving face of the wafer receptacle.

The above embodiment has described an example where the other end ofeach carrier suction hole 26 and that of each wafer suction hole 23 areconnected with the single suction device P. However, the presentinvention is not limited thereto. They can be connected with differentsuction devices individually.

The above embodiment has described such a configuration that properlyplacing the carrier 15 on the support face 25 leads to sealing the innerspaces I of the suction pads 18, enabling the carrier 15 to be held bysuction. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. Forexample, a plate member can be provided on the upper end of each suctionpad to use the upper surface of the plate member as the support face 25.In this example, although the carrier separated from the wafer cannot beheld by suction, the holding of the wafer on the wafer receptacle andthe vertical movement of the support face by the carrier support portionare feasible.

According to the present invention, the wafer holder is configured toinclude the carrier support portion in simple configuration which canseparate the carrier from the wafer and place the wafer on the waferreceptacle. By setting the strength (spring force) of the tubular membersuch that the tubular member is gradually shrunk by the weight of thewafer and the carrier from the original position to the deliveryposition, it is possible to prevent the wafer from getting contaminatedor scratched when placing it on the wafer receptacle.

According to the present invention, the wafer holder is configured toinclude the carrier support portion in simple configuration so that thecarrier after separated from the wafer can be also fixed on the carriersupport portion of the holder body at the placement of the wafer on thewafer receptacle.

According to the present invention, the wafer holder is configured sothat the air suction of the suction mechanism results in lowering thesupport face of the carrier support portion as well as fixing the waferon the wafer receptacle. Accordingly, the carrier support portion andfixing portions can be driven by the common driving force.

Although the present invention has been described in terms of exemplaryembodiments, it is not limited thereto. It should be appreciated thatvariations may be made in the embodiments described by persons skilledin the art without departing from the scope of the present invention asdefined by the following claims.

1. A wafer holder comprising: a holder body with a chuck table having aring-like wafer receptacle formed around a circumferential rim thereof;and a plurality of fixing portions fixing a circumferential rim of awafer on the wafer receptacle to hold the wafer; and a carrier in arectangular plate-like shape including a circular hole to support fromdownward the circumferential rim of the wafer before fixed on the waferreceptacle and to receive the chuck table, wherein: the holder bodyincludes a carrier support portion which forms a support face to supportthe carrier when a receiving face of the wafer receptacle is parallel tothe wafer, and to be changeable in height in a direction orthogonal tothe receiving face, and positions the support face at a deliveryposition where the wafer is made in contact with the wafer receptacle,while the carrier is placed on the support face; and the carrier supportportion separates the wafer from the carrier by lowering the supportface supporting the carrier from the delivery position, so that thefixing portions fix the wafer.
 2. A wafer holder according to claim 1,wherein: the carrier support portion is configured to position thesupport face at an original position higher than the delivery positionwhile the carrier is not placed on the support face, and place the waferon the wafer receptacle by lowering the support face supporting thecarrier to or below the delivery position.
 3. A wafer holder accordingto claim 2, wherein: the carrier support portion includes a tubularmember accordion-folded, extendible, and made of an elasticallydeformable member, and a suction mechanism being able to suction airfrom an inner space of the tubular member from the holder body; and whenthe carrier is placed on the support face at the original position, thetubular member lowers, by a weight of the carrier, the support face fromthe original position to the delivery position, and lowers, by suctionof the suction mechanism, the support face from the delivery position.4. A wafer holder according to claim 3, wherein: the tubular memberincludes an open upper end; the support face is formed by the open upperend of the tubular member; and the carrier support portion is configuredto lower the support face from the delivery position by suctioning theair from the inner space of the tubular member by the suction mechanismin a state that the open upper end of the tubular member is sealed withthe carrier placed on the support face.
 5. A wafer holder according toclaim 4, wherein the fixing portions each include a suction hole whichis open to the receiving face at one end and is sealable with the waferplaced on the wafer receptacle and through which air is suctioned by thesuction mechanism.
 6. A wafer holder according to claim 3, wherein thefixing portions each include a suction hole which is open to thereceiving face at one end and is sealable with the wafer placed on thewafer receptacle and through which air is suctioned by the suctionmechanism.